A report from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has suggested that a disharmony between academia and industry at the preclinical stage is a key factor stifling UK innovation.
According to the trade body, while early-stage R&D is one of the UK’s strong suits, many preclinical models developed in the country are experiencing a ‘translational readiness gap’. This means that preclinical models developed within academia are not always able to match the requirements of pharmaceutical companies – primarily due to validation, standardisation and scalability hurdles.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
This is significant, as preclinical models are a strong indicator of how a therapy may perform during clinical trials. If a model is inaccurate, it can lead companies to pursue the development of an ineffective drug, which costs time, money and resources.
Currently, the ABPI estimates that only 10% of medicines make it to market, with the insufficient predictive power of preclinical models remaining a significant driver of attrition during the drug development process.
Addressing preclinical model development challenges
To overcome this obstacle, the ABPI has put together a Translational Readiness Framework, which aims to bridge the gap between academic science and industry by identifying areas of improvement for academic-developed preclinical models.
Within the framework, the ABPI identifies three key areas, with the first focusing on materials. To overcome this hurdle, the trade association recommends that academics focus on developing suitable components for the intended application, rather than relying on readily available cells.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThe second identifies the use of multi-organ system models to more accurately predict how a drug may behave in the body – allowing pharma companies to make more informed decisions within the development process. To achieve this, the ABPI suggests academics look at overcoming the technical limitations involved with this model form, including standardisation, regulatory hurdles and the complexity of the tissue microenvironment.
The trade body has also called for the industry to address infrastructure gaps, noting that academics will likely need further support to validate and scale preclinical models suitable for use by pharmaceutical companies.
Joanna Jenkinson, ABPI’s director of innovation and research policy, believes that “coordinated action” will help the UK to effectively tackle the translational readiness gap.
“By addressing these challenges through cross-sector investment in standardisation, materials, validation infrastructure and skills development, we can develop more predictive models of human biology, reduce failure rates in medicines development and strengthen the UK’s competitive position in life sciences,” Jenkinson commented.
The ABPI’s efforts to improve the quality of British-developed preclinical models comes amid the UK government’s £60m push to phase out animal testing in preclinical trials.
The UK eyes wider life sciences expansion
Alongside the ABPI’s efforts, the UK government is looking to support the nation’s wider life sciences prospects. Through the 2025 Life Sciences Sector Plan, the cabinet aims to foster the continued growth of the industry by expanding the nation’s manufacturing capacity and overcoming commercialisation challenges. This scheme coincides with the 10 Year Health Plan, which is designed to improve the efficiency of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
These government initiatives come in response to experts’ rising concerns around the UK pharma sector’s global competitiveness, as industry sentiments sour and investment dries up due to the nation’s poorly perceived innovative drug spend.
However, things may be looking up for the UK in 2026, as trans-Atlantic trade policies with the Trump administration and Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s decision to cut 2026 drug rebate rates by one-third could help ease tensions seen in 2025.
